With the rise of the Internet and the explosion of online, multi-media, and other new and unique resources, students need to be able to easily use and understand citations and be able to adapt their knowledge to new formats and situations. As students come to rely more and more on electronic resources many studies have indicated an associated rise in plagiarism and other problems with citation and attribution, underscoring the need for continued attention to this issue on the part of faculty and academic staff in higher education. Although faculty and librarians acknowledge their students’ lack of
understanding in this area, there is general disagreement in the scholarly community about whose role it is to teach the various aspects of citation use. As information literacy initiatives have become more widely adopted, librarians’ responsibility for citation instruction has grown; while some librarians have embraced this role, others think of it as an example of “mission creep.”
The results of the online survey demonstrate that most librarians tend to resent their role in citation instruction when they feel they must focus on the mechanics of creating citations. Several scholars and survey respondents point to an increase in faculty focus on the policing of plagiarism and on flawless citation formatting as having a detrimental effect on the amount of time students are exposed to instruction about the scholarly communication aspects of citation use. Some observers see faculty emphasizing the formatting of citation and other more quantifiable aspects rather than concentrating on
general writing and research skills. A faculty member would certainly have an easier time grading student citations based on formatting rather than looking up each individual citation to make sure the students interpreted the source correctly and used it
appropriately in their work.
Unsurprisingly, then, this study shows that librarians in general consider formatting citations to be the least important aspect of understanding citation use, and that they regularly rely on library resources like style guides, online tutorials, and bibliographic management systems to handle this aspect of citation instruction. They believe that it is more important for students to understand the plagiarism prevention and scholarly communication aspects of citation use. As formatting citations is of least concern to librarians and a job many feel is not their responsibility, it makes sense that they would feel resentment towards having to teach citation formatting.
Librarians believe the scholarly communication aspects are the hardest to grasp for students entering college and they see that students show the least improvement in this area by the time they are seniors. This is unsurprising given that an understanding of general scholarly communication practices in higher education is a significantly more complex subject than learning how to avoid plagiarism or format a citation correctly, especially for students without research experience, typically most freshmen.
Despite the fact that most librarians do not want to teach citation formatting and would rather concentrate their instruction on the other aspects of citation use, shifting the responsibility for teaching citation formatting onto the writing center, faculty, or style guides could result in a lost opportunity for information literacy instruction. Citation styles can provide a window into the basic research approaches of different disciplines
and can spark discussions about what types of information each discipline finds most important to share during the course of scholarly conversations in the literature. While some librarians might feel unprepared to discuss citation styles in this manner or not have enough time to add this discussion into “one-shot” instruction sessions, this type of discussion could provide much needed background for students who might feel that the use of different citation styles in different courses is an arbitrary and torturously detailed exercise in frustration.
The open-ended survey questions and interviews confirm that librarians largely focus their instruction efforts on teaching the practical aspects citations use, i.e. how to locate sources using a citation and how to identify new sources from the bibliography or notes of an existing source, and do not spend too much of their limited time on detailed formatting instruction or on the complicated aspects of citation use in scholarly
communication. Again, many feel that it is the faculty's responsibility to cover reasons for citation use, particularly the scholarly communication aspects, as each discipline has different requirements and methods. Although many librarians feel that teaching the mechanics and formatting is best left to style guides and writing centers, they do show a willingness to collaborate with faculty and other units on campus and to try out new instructional methods for teaching citation use.
The results of this preliminary study suggest several ways that librarians can help students more fully understand the reasons to use citations. Librarians can encourage more discussions of the scholarly communication aspects of citation use when appropriate for the level of class or individual student. Librarians can also work to
target those collaborations towards explaining the more difficult scholarly
communication aspects of citation use. To the extent that they can be a part of this conversation, librarians can also suggest to teaching faculty that students need more instruction on basic research and writing methods and practices. Librarians should place more focus on explaining the principles, the “why,” of citation use when working with students. For example, librarians who never talk about how to correctly format a citation might actually be missing an instruction opportunity to explain the differences between citation styles and how those differences are helpful in understanding the goals and research practices of different scholarly disciplines.
Librarians should also continue to use active learning and hands-on techniques in teaching citation use as there is much evidence in the library instruction literature that these methods are particularly effective in introducing students to new concepts and skills. The literature also suggests that internet tutorials and online instruction can play a helpful role if used correctly (Mages & Garson, 2010).
This study reveals areas that would benefit from future research. A separate survey on faculty attitudes towards teaching citations would provide a useful point of comparison between librarian and faculty approaches. It would also be useful for
librarians and faculty to have more data about the actual outcomes of citation instruction. Quantitative research that tests student attitudes towards and knowledge of citation use could indicate areas where librarian expectations and perceptions are incomplete or incorrect. The more librarians can learn about how students and faculty think about citation use, the better prepared they will be to meet future challenges in instilling these basic information literacy concepts.
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Appendix A
Survey Questionnaire
Instruction Librarians’ Attitudes Towards Teaching Citations, PI Diana Shull Survey Questions:
IRBIS ORIS
Consent to Participate in a Research Study
Title of Study: Academic Librarians' Attitudes Towards Teaching Citations IRB #: 12-0478
Principal Investigator: Diana Shull
Principal Investigator's phone number: 303-847-2549 Principal Investigator's email: [email protected] Faculty Advisor: Beth L. Rowe
Faculty Advisor's email: [email protected]
What are some general things you should know about research studies? You are being asked to take part in a research study. To join the study is voluntary. You may refuse to join, or you may withdraw your consent to be in the study, for any reason, without penalty. Details about this study are discussed below. It is important that you understand this information so that you can make an informed choice about being in this research study.
What is the purpose of this study? The purpose of this research study is to collect data about academic librarians’ attitudes towards teaching undergraduates how to use
citations.
How many people will take part in this study? If you decide to be in this study, you will be one of approximately 50-60 people in this research study.
What will happen if you take part in the study? Your part in this study will last approximately 20 to 30 minutes or less. During this study, you will complete an online questionnaire. The questionnaire will ask you to describe your attitudes towards teaching citation use. With your permission you may be recontacted to complete a telephone interview.
What are the possible benefits from being in this study? Research is designed to benefit society by gaining new knowledge. You may not benefit personally from being in this research study.
What are the possible risks or discomforts involved from being in this study? We anticipate few risks in this study.
anonymously. This means that there will be no way for anybody to ever link your data or the results of the study to your identity.
What if you want to stop before your part in the study is complete? You can withdraw from this study at any time, without penalty and skip any question for any reason. The investigators also have the right to stop your participation if you have an unexpected reaction, have failed to follow instructions, etc.
Will you receive anything for being in this study? Will it cost anything? You will receive no monetary reward for participating in this study. There are no costs associated with being in the study.
What if you have questions about this study? You have the right to ask, and have answered, any questions you may have about this research. Contact the principal investigator listed above with any questions, complaints, or concerns you may have.
What if you have questions about your rights as a research participant? All research on human volunteers is reviewed by a committee that works to protect your rights and welfare. If you have questions or concerns, or if you would like to obtain information or offer input, please contact the Institutional Review Board at 919-966-3113 or by email to [email protected].
1) Do you consent to be in this research study? Yes
No
2) Have you ever taught bibliographic instruction sessions?
3) Last semester, how many sessions did you teach? If you did not teach any last semester, how many sessions do you teach in a typical semester?
1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 over 20
4) What types of bibliographic instruction sessions have you ever taught? (check all that apply)
“One-shot” instruction sessions
Instruction sessions embedded in a course (more than one session per course) Instruction sessions as part of a for-credit information literacy course
Other ________________
6) What citation styles did you teach last semester? If you did not teach any citation styles last semester, what citation styles have you taught in a typical semester?
7) Please rate how important the following are to a complete understanding of the reasons to use citations. If you believe that there are other factors that contribute to a complete understanding of the reasons to use citations, please specify those reasons in the blanks.
Very Important Somewhat Important Only a little Important Not at all Important Avoiding plagiarism Scholarly communication practices Correctly formatting the citation Other (specify) ______________
8) When you teach the reasons to use citations you place the following amounts of emphasis on these ideas:
High emphasis Some emphasis Very little emphasis No emphasis Avoiding plagiarism Scholarly communication practices Correctly formatting the citation Other (specify) ______________
Current debate about the ability of undergraduates to understand the reasons to use citations is mixed. Some librarians believe that students begin their college or university careers capable of understanding the reasons to use citations whereas other librarians believe that students need the rich context of the collegiate experience in order to
understand all aspects of citation use. The following questions will ask you about a typical freshman and a typical senior at your institution.
9) In general, how much ability does a typical freshmen have to understand the reasons to use citations?
Complete ability
Some ability Very little ability No ability Avoiding plagiarism Scholarly communication practices Correctly formatting the citation Other (specify) ______________
10) Now tell us about current levels of understand among your freshmen students. Please rate the level of understanding that a typical freshmen at your institution has of the following reasons to use citations:
Deep understanding Some understanding Very little understanding No understanding Avoiding plagiarism Scholarly communication practices Correctly formatting the citation Other (specify) ______________
11) Please rate the ability of a typical senior at your institution to understand the reasons